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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spell — magic
  7. club — for dancing
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bank — of a river
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — a video
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bank — for money
  21. spell — letters
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com